It's the first week of classes at Salish Kootenai College for the fall semester. As class lets out, students, new and returning, are making their way into the John Peter Paul building for the first meeting of an important club on campus. This club gives students hands-on experience by inspiring Indigenous students with leadership, networking, scholarships and business experience. 

The SKC chapter of American Indigenous Business Leaders (AIBL) was created to expand opportunities for Native students who are ambitious about business through culture, experience and service. This non-profit national organization was established at the University of Montana in 1994, and now the SKC chapter is living up to its name.

After a successful wrap-up last semester, the chapter has returned, ready to give Indigenous students business experience, inspire the next generation of Native business owners and fundraise for the National American Indigenous Business Conference this spring.

“Indigenous people are often overlooked and left out of conversations about leadership, business and economic opportunity. Our voices matter, and we belong in these spaces just as much as anyone else,” said Vice President of the SKC AIBL chapter, Bailee Flammond. “I am proud to be a part of a generation of Indigenous students who are pursuing higher education and creating opportunities for themselves and communities. 

“I want our youth to see that there is a place for them in business and wherever their dreams take them,” said Flammond. 

Research on Native-owned businesses by the REAL Co-Lab at the University of Montana found that Native business owners have fewer opportunities for financial tools such as business checking accounts, credit cards and loans than other business owners. It also found that 68% of Native businesses reported access to capital as a challenge, compared with 49% of all business owners. Of all native businesses, 55% will willingly try to use personal collateral. 

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the most recent small business credit survey of 2022 reported the highest Native representation ever for businesses. Nearly 3% of the total sample was made up of native-owned businesses, and because of this, the survey reports included American Indian and Alaska Native-owned businesses in the analysis for the first time. 

As more Native-owned businesses emerge, financial and networking challenges continue to pose barriers. The purpose of AIBL chapters show students how to create business plans by outreaching, networking, planning fundraisers and giving back to their communities. 

All fundraising for the SKC AIBL chapter sending a few students to the annual National American Indigenous Business Conference in Las Vegas, with the goal of raising $10,000. There, students will compete in the Business Plan and Chapter of the Year competitions. 

Each competing group will develop a business idea, research it, create a formal plan and present it to a panel of judges. Students will also be judged on what each chapter has accomplished as a club over the school year, including fundraisers and community outreach. 

During the student conference, the Reservation Economic Summit happens at the same time. Students after the conference will have the opportunity to sit in on lectures and panels, watch real Native-owned businesses and organizations present their plans, and network with other students. 

“My experience at the conference was life-changing. It has given me real-world experience in the business world that I could never gain from a textbook alone,” Flammond said. “It's inspiring to see what other students and professionals are accomplishing. The conference helped me grow in leadership and my understanding of the business world.”        

Last year, SKC was awarded $1,000 in the Business Plan competition for researching, presenting and creating a formal plan for a coffee house. This year, they hope to return with more students if the chapter reaches its funding goal. To raise funds, AIBL set up a bake sale and raffle at the Beartracks Celebration Powwow during Indigenous People’s Day this past Monday at Caras Park in Missoula. 

Banana pudding, strudels, cupcakes, cake pops and more handmade delights from the AIBL students were available for purchase. Next to a fundraising goal count, was a bowl of tickets for the club's raffle. Ticket purchases also went into sending students to the national conference. The winning basket included native print socks, a hat, a water bottle and a blanket. 

It’s important to have more indigenous business leaders to be able to have a foothold in all spaces and be present and active in those spaces,” said Kelseyanne Boggess, a student in AIBL. “Having community spaces like powwow, even though historically we didn't, it’s important. It doesn’t matter what tribe someone is from; we are all a part of the same community and have the same chances as anyone else.” 

The bake sale was a success in sales and donations. The AIBL students raised $830 and got offers from local entrepreneurs for donations and help on their next events. The chapter is planning more fundraising and community outreach events to reach its $10,000 goal, in hopes of giving more students the opportunity to attend the national conference this year. 

“The conference is so exciting, seeing how much time and effort the competing group puts into it. Having our little school win out of all the other schools that showed up was so exciting,” Boggess said.

AIBL’s next fundraising and outreach event will be a BBQ at Polson Murdoch's on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Murdoch’s will sell the burgers that the students make with donations to the students' welcome.